THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S BASKETBALL... The Peacocks will return to Fayette to host a pair of NSIC opponents this weekend. Upper Iowa will face Concordia University, St. Paul on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The team will then take on Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 5:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to dress in white for Friday night's Winter Wonderland Whiteout and wear ugly sweaters for Deck the Halls of Dorman on Saturday afternoon. Live stats and a webcast will be available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. The game will also broadcast live on KCRG TV 9.3 and stream on the NSIC app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV.
WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED… Upper Iowa struggled during their first conference road trip. The Peacocks suffered back-to-back, double-digit defeats. The team fell 88-69 on Friday evening to Wayne State College; it was a one-possession game at the break, but a second half surge pushed the Wildcats ahead of the Peacocks. Jareese Williams was the driving force for the Peacocks scoring 16 on the night. Upper Iowa then traveled up to Sioux Falls, S.D. where they fell 86-59 to Augustana University. The game was tied 25-25 with 8:31 to play in the first half, but a 25-5 Viking run gave the home team control. The Peacocks never recovered resulting in the 27-point loss. Jake Hilmer and Joe Smoldt shared the load for Upper Iowa scoring 14 points apiece. Despite the losses, the Peacocks excelled at creating turnovers while limiting their own. The team committed just 23 giveaways compared to 36 made by their opponents over the weekend. Lucas Duax notched four steals increasing his per game average to 1.9, which ranks second in the NSIC.
PEACOCK POWER… Hilmer led the Peacock offense over the weekend with 14.0 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. His play led to a spot on the week five NSIC top performers list and his 3.9 assists per game rank seventh in the NSIC. Williams took the lead in the NSIC three-point percentage column; he went 6-11 from long distance over the weekend, which brought his season total up to 30-60 (50%). Williams is also averaging 14.2 points per game (21st in NSIC), 3.3 three-pointers per game (second in NSIC), and a team-high 4.9 rebounds per contest. Smoldt has scored in double-digits in the last four games, second only to Hilmer whose streak sits at five. Smoldt's 10.3 points per game is the second highest on the team.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS… Since moving up to NCAA Division II prior to the 2005-06 season, Upper Iowa holds a 14-12 record against the Golden Bears. Concordia-St. Paul owned the series early on winning nine of the first 12 matchups, but since their match up in December 2012, the Peacocks have won 11 of the last 14 including the last six straight. The Golden Bears are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference this season, they are coming off a split last weekend losing to the University of Sioux Falls by a 78-71 count before defeating Southwest Minnesota State University 75-70. The CSP offense is averaging 73.3 points per game while shooting 44.9% from the floor and 35.9% from three as well as posting a rebound margin of +3.7 per game. Three Golden Bears are scoring in double figures including Jordan Coblin (18.4), Cody Carlson (14.3) and Noah Kannegiesser (12.8), while on the glass Jacob Shields (6.7), Carlson (6.3) and Coblin (6.0) combine for 19 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS… Minnesota State holds a 20-5 record against Upper Iowa since the 2005-06 season. The Mavericks controlled the series to start, winning 17 out of 18 games. Since their matchup in February 2016, Upper Iowa is ahead four games to three, including three-consecutive victories during the 2016-17 season. Minnesota State finished last season with an 18-12 record, 14-8 in NSIC play. Minnesota State is 3-5 (1-1) this season. The team split their most recent series picking up a 67-57 win against SMSU before falling to Sioux Falls by a 86-81 count. The Mavericks are outscoring their opponents by 6.4 points and out rebounding them by 4.5 boards per game while shooting 45.9% from the field despite their losing record. Cameron Kirksey returns to the Mavericks for his senior season, he averaged 17.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season which earned him a spot on the All-NSIC First Team. Kirksley (18.1) along with Ryland Holt (12.8) and Corvon Seales (11.3) are averaging double-digit points per game this year. Kelby Kramer, a transfer from the University of Montana has helped the Mavericks control the paint posting 7.3 points, 10.3 rebounds (3rd in the NSIC), and a league-high 3.1 blocks per game.
